NRLC affiliates played a major role in U.S. Senate takeover

WASHINGTON – A new post-election poll of actual voters conducted by
The Polling Company/ WomanTrend, found that the issue of abortion once
again played a key role in the mid-term elections, and that National
Right to Life and its state affiliates were key to getting out the
pro-life vote for pro-life candidates.

Twenty-three percent of voters said that the abortion issue affected
their vote and voted for candidates who oppose abortion. This compares
to just 16% who said abortion affected their vote and voted for
candidates who favor abortion, yielding a 7% advantage for pro-life
candidates.

These poll results help explain the victories experienced by the
right-to-life movement in Tuesday’s elections. National Right to Life’s
political committees were actively involved in 74 races. In those races,
53 (72%) pro-life candidates prevailed, including pro-life Senate
candidates in Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Two of the Senate races in which National Right to Life was
actively involved are still outstanding. In Alaska, pro-life Dan
Sullivan has what appears to be an insurmountable lead over pro-abortion
Sen. Mark Begich, and in Louisiana, pro-life Rep. Bill Cassidy is
considered the frontrunner in a December run-off election against
pro-abortion incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Despite being vastly outspent by pro-abortion organizations such as
Planned Parenthood and EMILY’s List, pro-life candidates won Tuesday by
significant margins. There were 26 races in which a candidate supported
by National Right to Life was running against a candidate supported by
the pro-abortion PAC EMILY’s List. Nineteen (73%) of the National Right
to Life-supported candidates won.

The poll also found that voters heard and saw the right-to-life
message in the days leading up to the election. Fully 28% of voters
recalled receiving, hearing, or seeing information or advertising from
National Right to Life. Seventeen percent recalled receiving information
or hearing advertising from the National Right to Life affiliate in
their state.

The poll of 806 actual voters was conducted by The Polling
Company/Woman Trend, November 4, 2014, and has a margin of error of
+/-3.5%.

Minnesota strengthens pro-life majority in state House

Tuesday’s election yielded mixed results in Minnesota.
On the positive side, voters enlarged the pro-life majority in the Minnesota House of
Representatives.

he 134-member chamber gained 10 additional pro-life members as the
Republican Party took control of the House from the
Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. No Minnesota Senate seats were on
the ballot in 2014.

Unfortunately, pro-abortion Gov. Mark Dayton was reelected along with
his running mate Tina Smith, a former vice president of Planned
Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. Smith has been
Dayton’s chief of staff for the last four years.

;Soon after becoming governor in 2011, Dayton made a pledge to
the abortion industry that he would stop every pro-life bill from
becoming law. He has since vetoed all seven pro-life measures passed by
the Legislature, including a ban on taxpayer funding of abortion.

A Minnesota Supreme Court decision requires taxpayers to fund
elective abortions performed on low-income women. Dayton’s challenger,
pro-life Jeff Johnson, had a strong pro-life record as a Minnesota House
member and a 100 percent pro-life response to the candidate
questionnaire of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL).

Among the state’s candidates for federal offices, three pro-life
congressional incumbents — U.S. Reps. John Kline, Erik Paulsen and
Collin Peterson — were re-elected. All have extremely strong pro-life
records in Congress. Pro-life Tom Emmer was also elected to the seat
vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The state’s four pro-abortion members of Congress were also re-elected.
However, pro-life Stewart Mills waged a very strong campaign against
pro-abortion U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan in the state’s 8th District. Mills
lost by less than 1.5 percent on Tuesday.

Voters also returned pro-abortion comedian Al Franken to the U.S.
Senate. After winning by just 312 votes in 2008, Franken was challenged
by pro-life Mike McFadden. A series of ugly ads against McFadden and
Mills, filled with dubious accusations unrelated to the issues at stake
in the election.

Paid for by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Federal and State PAC.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.